Publications by authors named "Blanka Mellova"

Article Synopsis
  • The COVID-19 pandemic led to decreased physical activity among adolescents, contributing to weight gain, prompting the World Health Organization to urge immediate action to address this issue.
  • The #goathletics Study assessed the impact of a national extracurricular athletics program and food habits on body weight among Polish adolescents, with one group participating in the program for at least nine months and a matched control group.
  • Results showed that participants in the Athletics for All program had significantly lower body weight, BMI, and waist circumference compared to the control group, which indicates a reduced risk of excessive body weight; however, food habits did not show a significant impact on body measurements.
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Among the hyperactivity and inattention components, being predictors of the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) phenotype, there are restlessness, fidgeting, distractibility, lack of reflectiveness and lack of attention components. So far, it was observed that they may be associated with an excessive body mass in children. The aim of the study was to analyze differences of the hyperactivity and inattention between adolescents participating and non-participating in a national Polish after-school athletics program (12-13 years) in a case-control sample.

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Regular exercise during school hours is encouraged; however many children and adolescents fail to meet the recommendations during this time. Extracurricular activities may be a more appealing way for youth to achieve guidelines, and it is recommended that they attend two sessions each week. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of participation in a national physical activity program accompanied by nutritional education for trainers on the risk of obesity and body composition in a nationwide sample of boys and girls, after one year of intervention.

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Among the factors that may influence fruit and vegetable intake, there is a food neophobia level, but the other elements, including physical activity and place of residence, must also be taken into account as interfering ones. The aim of the study was to analyze the association between food neophobia level and the intake of fruits and vegetables in a nationwide case-control study of Polish adolescents (12⁻13 years), including the influence of gender, the physical activity program participation and the place of residence. The #goathletics Study was conducted among a group of 1014 adolescents, 507 individuals representative for a nationwide physical activity program "Athletics for All" participants (characterized by an active lifestyle) and 507 pair-matched individuals (characterized by sedentary behavior), while 502 were representative for urban and 512 for suburban area.

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